Company Description
One of Canada's Best Diversity Employers and Greater Toronto's Top Employers for many consecutive years, William Osler Health System (Osler) provides a safe and supportive health care network to grow your career. Osler is nationally recognized for its commitment to patient safety and is Accredited with Exemplary Standing, the highest rating a Canadian hospital can receive. As a major Ontario hospital system, and home to some of the biggest specialty and emergency departments in the country, Osler serves the 1.3 million residents of Brampton, Etobicoke and surrounding communities. We are proud to offer you incredible exposure to best-in-class health care delivery and challenging hands-on opportunities to stay at the top of your game.
A hospital system built for and by the community, we continue to expand our services to meet the needs of a growing population, creating opportunities for increased hands-on skills development, cross-department training and promotional opportunities. Guided by our accomplished senior leadership team, together we are driving our vision of patient-inspired health care without boundaries.
At Osler, we invest in careers that go beyond where health care professionals like you can achieve their goals and find deep personal and professional fulfillment. Join our team today!
Job Description
The Research Communications Specialist reports to the Director, Clinical Research, while working closely with the Strategic Communications team to ensure alignment with existing narratives and communications policies and procedures. With a minimum of five years of progressive experience in research and strategic communications, the Research Communications Specialist leads and executes coordinated, strategic, creative and timely communications, in partnership with Osler’s Strategic Communications team, for a range of internal and external audiences. The focus of the role is to create awareness and understanding of Osler’s Research Institute and its value to varied audiences.
The Research Communications Specialist must possess specialized knowledge of strategic communications principles (public relations, corporate communications, digital etc.), and will apply those principles in the development and implementation of a robust communications strategy for the research institute, as well as the development of clear, concise and compelling materials consistent with Osler’s brand and reputation. The successful candidate must be able to take complex scientific content and translate it into consumer friendly messages, for the purposes of developing scientific statements, for example.
Accountabilities:
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Communications planning, content development and marketing
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Working with Osler’s Strategic Communications team, develops proactive communications aligned with Osler’s brand, corporate narrative and strategic communications plans, focused on external and internal audiences
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Leads approval process for research communications materials with Osler’s Strategic Communications team
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Stays abreast of current communication practices to determine new, engaging, and effective methods and tools to communicate to internal and external audiences
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Coordinates, leads and reports on goals, measurements and evaluation for research related communication projects
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Develops content to promote and profile Osler Research, its affiliated researchers and their research (e.g. press releases, web stories and social media posts)
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Leads the development of the research institute annual report, video promotions and event speaking notes
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Develops content/marketing pieces as needed
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Consults with key researchers to support the planning and development of specific communications materials
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Supports equity, diversity and inclusion in all communication projects
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Web, digital and social media
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Contributes to the Digital Media team’s communications plan to include research-related strategies for the website and social media
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Drafts content for webpages and social media and tracks key metrics in collaboration with our Digital Media team
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Develops content for intranet (e.g., policies, forms, news and events) in collaboration with the Digital Media team
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Creates and tracks enewsletters for internal and external distribution
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Communications strategic planning
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Working with Osler’s Strategic Communications team, develops a Strategic Communications plan (which encompasses public relations, corporate communications, scientific communications and other stakeholder communications) to raise the profile of the research institute
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Executes strategic communications plan aligned with organizational objectives
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Works with research leadership and other clinical leadership to help inform external and internal research communications strategy and direction
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Leads, coordinates and supports internal and external communication to inform, engage and helps to achieve corporate strategic goals and research goals
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Tracks research productivity and communications metrics, media attention, etc.
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Public and media relations
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Works closely with the Public Relations team to ensure the exposure of research-related communication is disseminated to the media through corporate messaging and other hospital initiatives and activities
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Communicates press releases and media pitches to journalists in collaboration with Public Relations team
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Coordinates interviews between journalists and researchers in collaboration with Public Relations team
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Events and promotions
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Supports events through copy writing, graphic design, social media marketing, website updates and on-site support during the event
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Develop speaking notes for researchers
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Support event management as required
Qualifications
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Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing or related field
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Five or more years experience
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Broad knowledge and working experience with digital media and best practices, keeping on the cusp of new digital trends
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Knowledge of reading and analyzing analytics
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Able to translate complex clinical information into consumable language for a variety of audiences
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Solid knowledge of communications, marketing and public relations principles combined with exceptional project management skills and attention to detail
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Experience in journalism (preferably broadcast), social media (experience in a corporate role), marketing/advertising, public/media relations
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Experience in hospital or health care public relations is an asset
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Exceptional creative writing skills
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Thorough understanding of public relations tactics and appropriateness of use and strong new media skills including the ability to create websites, blogs, podcasts, eblasts and social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.)
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Possess excellent problem-solving and critical thinking skills, and the ability to work independently with little oversight
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Experience reading and extracting insight from research articles
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Must demonstrate Osler's Values of Respect, Excellence, Service, Compassion, Innovation and Collaboration
Additional Information
Hours: Currently Days (subject to change in accordance with operational requirements)
Application deadline: October 9, 2023
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Osler values inclusivity and diversity in the workplace. We welcome and encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds. We are committed to providing accessible employment practices that are in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. If you require an accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process, please notify Human Resources at [email protected].
While we thank all applicants, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Any information obtained during the course of recruitment will be used for employment recruitment purposes only, and not for any other purpose.
